525,600 Minutes

525,600 minutes - 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?

We can not believe that Harper turned one years old today! When she woke up this morning we put balloons in her crib to celebrate. She wasn't so sure of them at first but then figured out that they were fun to play with. Good Morning Birthday Girl!

Enjoying a "special" birthday breakfast of waffles and strawberries. Jeff had his first football game tonight so Harper and I went over to the Diamond's house before the game for dinner. Heather made Harper some yummy birthday cupcakes. "Can I fit this whole cupcake in my mouth at once!"
Abigail helping Harper open her present. Abigail showing Harper how to play her new piano. They are already best buddies - it's so cute to watch them play together.

Harper loving on her baby doll. When I gave this to her she immediatly held it up like this and gave it a hug - so cute!We made it through half time at Jeff's game but then had to head home. Harper has been going to bed before 6:30 this past week so by 9:30 she was DONE! I think we will be spending many birthdays at the football game.

It seems like just yesterday that we were preparing for her birth and now she is already one years old. I had fun going back through the hundreds of pictures that we have taken over the past year. This is on the way to the hospital August 28, 2008.

"Hello world!""What are you people doing to me?" Look at those long legs.

Headed home from the hospital.

I can't believe how much they change in just the first year.
Happy Birthday Harper Joy!

Empty Cabinets

While I was packing up our bathroom tonight Harper found a new way to keep herself entertained. She did this completely on her own. Make sure your sound is up because I love how she is talking to herself.


Caught in the act.

Two more days...

3 more days

Three more days until our big move! We do the final walk through of our new house on Monday. We close on our Wylie house on Wednesday morning and then close on our new home in McKinney that afternoon. We get the keys to our new house at 6pm on Wednesday and we have to be out of our Wylie house by midnight on Friday. That gives us 48 hours to get moved. I ended up hiring movers to come on Thursday. Originally we were going to rent a Penske truck and try to move everything ourselves, but Jeff will not be around at all this week. Teacher in service is every day from 8am - 3pm. Then football is from 4pm - 8pm. I decided that it would be worth the money to hire movers to just take care of it for us.


Harper and I have been busy packing. It does take a little longer to pack a box when you have a curious baby around. For every two things I put into a box, she likes to pull out at least one of them. I've learned that I have to be faster than her.
Yesterday I tackled the kitchen and got all of the cabinets cleaned outand all of the drawers emptied. We sure have accumulated a lot of stuff in 5.5 years of marriage! Moving is a pain in the rear - but we are so thankful that we have the opportunity to move closer to Jeff's school. It will make life much easier on all of us.

Congrats Roo!

On Friday evening, we got a very exciting phone call. Jeff's sister, Rhonda, was calling to tell us that her boyfriend, Bill, just proposed to her. What a beautiful engagement ring!!
We are so excited for Rhonda and Bill. They met in Lubbock while Rhonda was in nursing school at Tech and Bill was getting his MBA. They both were working at the same hospital and clinic. We won't hold it against them that they are Red Raiders! Bill was a cyclist when he met Rhonda so he got her hooked on the sport as well. They enjoy riding bikes together and are doing the Hotter'N Hell ride in a few weeks.

Bill has turned into a triathlete as well so he will fit in nicely with our family. Rhonda and Bill also enjoy running. I think they have talked us into doing a couples half marathon with them in Austin on Valentine's Day. We are so excited for Rhonda and Bill!! Can't wait for wedding planning to begin.

Book worm

I often find Harper in her room "reading" books from her bookshelf. She normally pulls all of the books onto the floor and then "reads" a couple pages from each book before getting bored and moving on to the next book. Violet's House is one of her favorite books right now. I think that it's because it's a large book with lots of bright colors and objects with texture to touch.

Harper likes reading her Bible also. Shh - don't tell her that it's upside down.

Hide and go seek with Mommy.

Daddy's clothes??

When Jeff gets home in the evenings, he normally gives Harper a bath while I clean up the mess from dinner. I came into the study to find Harper dressed like this...For some off reason, Jeff thought it would be funny to put Harper in his t shirt and shorts and see what she would do. She was trying to crawl but not getting very far in her Men's Large t-shirt.

Yes - her shirt does say "Israel Defense Force" Carol brought it home for Jeff from Israel.

Happy early birthday Mama & Papa!

Today Harper and I drove up to Sulphur Springs for my Mama & Papa's birthday party. Papa's birthday is Monday the 10th and Mama's is the 18th. We celebrated today because several of our cousins were able to come into town. Here is Harper with my dad and her great grandad. Harper and my Aunt Ruth. Harper and her great grandmother (my Mama).

Giving Papa kisses.

My cousins, Ian & Nathan, with Carol and Harper.

My cousin Brad and I were born about 3 months apart. When we were little our moms would take us places together and people would think that we were siblings. Brad and his precious wife Crystal live in Dallas so we do get to see them occasionally.

Mama and Papa were surprised by the cake and candles.

My sister Carol and my "cousin in law" Lindsey.

Ian playing with Harper at lunch.